The actress Tricia Helfer, best known for her role as the Cylon Number Six in the Sci-Fi Channel’s reinvented Battlestar Galactica, is visiting Asheville. She’s participating in Kiehl’s Liferide 2012, riding a motorcycle from Atlanta to NYC–and touring the Biltmore Estate and the famed nearby motorcycle route, the Tail of the Dragon.

The Asheville nonprofit Food Connection is partnering with Wicked Weed Brewing and its Cultura restaurant, the YMCA of Western North Carolina, and Red Wing Enterprises for the event aimed at helping service industry workers.

One of the biggest immediate impacts has been the release of about 200 people from the Buncombe County jail, a long-sought after goal by some local officials who want to convert the county jail from a holding pen for low-level, nonviolent, poor suspects to a lockup reserved for serious offenders.

Larry Halstead is a tech nerd with an affinity for arts & sports. Reppin' the hard streets of South Asheville for almost 15 years. He's made this city home and has vowed to never stop fighting to keep it as weird & unique as possible.